How To Grow Taller at 15 for Girls and Boys

If you’re curious about how to grow taller at 15 years old, then we’re confident that you’ll find our science-based article both enlightening and highly informative.

As you’ll soon learn, not everyone has the genetics to grow taller after 15 years old, whereas some people can still experience significant height growth after turning 15.

You can’t change your genetics, but you can optimize your food intake, sleeping habits, and exercise routine to give your body the best possible chance to grow taller after your 15th birthday.

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How to grow taller at 15 years old fast

A boy demonstrating how to grow taller at 15 years old

Let’s start by looking at the facts. Based on US height measurement data, most 15 year old females won’t get any taller upon turning fifteen. There are, however, outliers, meaning that some 15 year old girls may still get a bit taller.

15 year old boys, on the other hand, can expect to gain around one inch of additional height in the next couple of years of their physical development.

Again, this is just an average. There will be some boys who stop growing at 15 and others who continue to add inches to their stature for a few more years.

Get plenty of quality sleep

It can’t be said enough; getting quality sleep is crucial for growing taller at 15 and for achieving optimal health.

Fifteen year olds have a lot going on in their lives, so a good night’s sleep is crucial for keeping excessive cortisol at bay (which can inhibit growth hormone production) and recovering from the stressors of the day.

While it might be tempting to stay up late talking to your friends online, if you want to maximize your height growth, you’re best off getting to bed at a reasonable time and aiming for around 9 hours of nightly sleep.

Sleeping well will optimize growth hormone production so that you can make the most of your time as a growing teenager.

A good tip in this regard is to avoid looking at screens, such as your phone, within an hour of going to bed. This is because such devices—aside from keeping your brain active rather than relaxed—emit blue light, which can make it harder to fall asleep.

Don’t be deficient in vital nutrients

A colorful selection of fruits and vegetables

Being deficient in vital nutrients, such as zinc and vitamin D, is not only bad for your health and wellbeing; it can also negatively affect your physical development.

As an example, one study showed that children who received a zinc supplement grew more than those who did not. ^[1] Although this research was in younger children, similar results could be possible for teenagers, who, if male, are likely still able to grow in height.

Building a healthy body by nourishing it with the right foods creates the best possible foundation for growing taller after 15 years old.

Aim to get enough fat to maintain healthy hormones. Sources like eggs, avocados, nuts, dairy, fatty fish, and red meat all have plenty of fats, which will help to boost testosterone production as well as IGF-1 levels, which is a crucial growth hormone. ^[2]

Many of the above-mentioned fat sources are also packed with protein, which is a crucial macronutrient for bone growth and post-exercise recovery.

Taking a supplement that contains trace minerals, which are commonly missing from many teenagers’ diets, can help to make nutrient deficiencies a thing of the past. Just be sure not to rely on supplements for your nutritional needs because these products can’t replace a healthy diet.

Don’t restrict your calories

A 15 year old boy or girl who wants to get taller should not restrict their calories.

You don’t want to deny your body the energy that it needs to function properly, which can happen when you eat too few calories.

We took care of proteins and fats in the previous section, so let’s get into carbohydrates.

Eating enough carbs can help to fuel your workouts and, when eaten in your evening meal, make it easier to fall asleep. This is key as both exercise and sleep lead to growth hormone production, which, in turn, helps you to grow taller at 15 years old.

Once they’ve established a healthy eating routine, most teenagers shouldn’t worry about eating slightly too much or too little. Consuming 3 full meals per day that satiate you—along with optional healthy snacks—should take care of the diet side of the height growth equation.

Exercise correctly every day

During school, most 15 year old boys and girls are very sedentary. ^[3] And while this may be necessary in order to sit down and learn, research shows that a majority of fifteen year olds tend not to compensate for this lack of physical activity.

So if you want to get ahead of your classmates and prime your body for growth, you should perform at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day.

Aerobic exercise, which can include swimming, cycling, or even jumping jacks in your bedroom, is always a great workout that gets your heart pumping.

But you also want to do some kind of resistance training—with the proper form—in order to strengthen your bones and muscles.

There’s no harm in lifting free weights, but just make sure to lift the weights in a controlled manner. Avoid ego lifting and focus on the muscle or group of muscles that each movement is meant to train rather than on lifting as much weight as possible.

Resistance band exercises and bodyweight workouts are two good alternatives to free weights that will help 15 year olds to build bone strength and minimize injury risk.

Don’t stress about your stature

Chronic stress increases cortisol production, which, in turn, can suppress growth hormone production. This isn’t what you want when you’re trying to increase your height as a 15 year old.

Of course, many people mention numerous ways to grow taller at 15. But few people talk about what not to do.

We’ve already said that you should avoid restricting your calories if you want to maximize your height growth, but for the reason outlined above—elevated cortisol levels—you also want to kick stress out of your life as much as possible.

This is easier said than done for 15 year olds, who are still maturing into young adults. ^[4]

But trying to see the good in situations and adopting a positive outlook can certainly help to mitigate the stress of school or social life, which, in turn, can improve your sleep and other important growth-boosting habits.

Avoid shortcuts and scams

A man holding some supplements in his hand

Many 15 year old girls and boys want to increase their height. As such, there are a number of companies and individuals out there who promise significant height increases if you buy their product.

However, the vast majority of these products are bad news. For example, height-increasing supplements are often just an arbitrary collection of vitamins and minerals, many of which you may already get enough of.

The better thing to do is to work out, based on the foods that you eat, which specific nutrients you’re likely to be deficient in. Then, under the guidance of your parents or a doctor, you can take a quality trace mineral supplement to ensure that your body isn’t missing out on any vital nutrients.

As for stretching and other such physical practices, we’ll take a look at those in just a moment.

How can you trigger a growth spurt at 15 years old?

A boy showing how to get taller at 15 years old

Some people believe that intense exercise, such as sprinting, can trigger a growth spurt at age 15 and even older. And while intense exercise can certainly increase hormone levels, it’s unclear whether this transient hormonal surge of GH is enough to trigger meaningful height growth.

We recommend doing exercises that you enjoy so that you can stick to a proper workout regime. This might include sprinting, or it might not. The point is to stimulate growth hormone production on a daily basis while you’re going through puberty.

You can do sprints on an exercise bike if you want to spare your joints from the pounding of the sidewalk. Or, as a low-impact alternative, you can go swimming a few times per week or do jumping jacks at home.

Obviously, when you’re performing intense exercise like this in an effort to get taller at 15 years old, you definitely want to treat your body correctly by nourishing it with enough calories, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

Will stretching increase your height at 15 years old?

Many people report that stretching for a period of weeks or months increased their height. However, stretching doesn’t elongate your bones. It only improves your posture and encourages you to stand tall.

So if you want to make the most of your current height, then stretching for 10-20 minutes 1-2 times per day can definitely help you do that.

But if you want to experience actual height increases by way of bone lengthening, then you need to implement the above-mentioned lifestyle changes and hope that you have the genetics to keep growing taller after 15 years old.

We’ve spoken a lot about how to get taller at 15, and this advice will certainly set you up for success. However, it’s important that you realize that height is primarily determined by your genetics.

Can girls still grow taller after 15 years old?

So, can 15 year old females get taller after turning 15 or not? Statistically, most girls won’t get any taller after the age of 15, no matter what they do.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, and you might grow a few millimeters or something, but most 15 year old girls simply won’t add a significant amount of height after turning fifteen.

The good news?

You can increase your perceived height by standing tall and talking with confidence. When you stand tall and maintain good posture, people will often overestimate your height.

Additionally, you can wear elevated shoes of some kind to gain extra inches still.

The verdict: How to get taller at 15 for boys and girls

We know that height is mostly genetic. But you can make the most of your genetics by eating a nutritious diet, performing daily exercise, and then rounding the day off with a good night’s sleep.

That’s how to grow taller at 15 in a nutshell.

It sounds simple, and it is. Focusing on the big wins that most fifteen year olds neglect can really set you up for height growth success.

So ditch the junk food and eat healthy, balanced meals.

Avoid staying up late staring at your phone; go to bed at a reasonable time instead.

And, of course, be sure to build a strong and healthy body by getting out of the house and exercising.

References

Rerksuppaphol, S., & Rerksuppaphol, L. (2018). Zinc supplementation enhances linear growth in school-aged children: A randomized controlled trial. Pediatric reports, 9(4), 7294. https://doi.org/10.4081/pr.2017.7294
Laron Z. (2001). Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1): a growth hormone. Molecular pathology : MP, 54(5), 311–316. https://doi.org/10.1136/mp.54.5.311
Jakubec, L., Frömel, K., Chmelík, F., & Groffik, D. (2020). Physical Activity in 15-17-Year-Old Adolescents as Compensation for Sedentary Behavior in School. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(9), 3281. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093281
Your 15-Year-Old: Development Milestones. (2022, August 29). Verywell Family. Retrieved from https://www.verywellfamily.com/15-year-old-developmental-milestones-2609027